#365songs (148 / 365)

Run the Jewels rap like a couple of motherfuckers no matter what beat they're on, so by the time RTJ3 came around it took a really distinctive beat to make a track stand out to me. And this beat is... nuts? It sounds like it's from the future, still, almost 10 years later, and like: basically, hyperpop happened in the meantime. Trying to listen to it objectively, it seems like it basically has no mids: it's mostly low-end, cycling between a few different thunderous bass synths, with those deranged glissando-y percussive synth sounds on top and some random intermittent other shit like synthesized snaps and cymbals tossed in for variety. It leaves a lot of space for El-P's and Killer Mike's vocals in the mix, I guess, and I'm aware that they're constantly saying very hard shit for the three minutes of this track like they always do, but every time I listen to it I'm still just flabbergasted that a person came up with this beat.